Implantable medical devices are commonly used today to treat patients suffering from various ailments. Such implantable devices may be utilized to treat conditions such as pain, incontinence, sleep disorders, and movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. Such therapies also appear promising in the treatment of a variety of psychological, emotional, and other physiological conditions.
One known type of implantable medical device, a neurostimulator, delivers mild electrical impulses to neural tissue using an electrical lead. For example, to treat pain, electrical impulses may be directed to specific sites. Such neurostimulation may result in effective pain relief and a reduction in the use of pain medications and/or repeat surgeries.
Typically, such devices are totally implantable and may be controlled by a physician or a patient through the use of an external programmer. Current systems generally include a non-rechargeable primary cell neurostimulator, a lead extension, and a stimulation lead, and the two main classes of systems may be referred to as: (1) Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) and (2) Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS).
An SCS stimulator may be implanted in the abdomen, upper buttock, or pectoral region of a patient and may include at least one extension running from the neurostimulator to the lead or leads which are placed somewhere along the spinal cord. Each of the leads (to be discussed in detail hereinbelow) currently contains from one to eight electrodes. Each extension (likewise to be discussed in detail below) is plugged into or connected to the neurostimulator at a proximal end thereof and is coupled to and interfaces with the lead or leads at a distal end of the extension.
The implanted neurostimulation system is configured to send mild electrical pulses to the spinal cord. These electrical pulses are delivered through the lead or leads to regions near the spinal cord or a nerve selected for stimulation. Each lead includes a small insulated wire coupled to an electrode at the distal end thereof through which the electrical stimulation is delivered. Typically, the lead also comprises a corresponding number of internal wires to provide separate electrical connection to each electrode such that each electrode may be selectively used to provide stimulation. Connection of the lead to an extension may be accomplished by means of a connector block including, for example, a series or combination of set screws, ball seals, etc. The leads are inserted into metal set screw bocks, and the metal set screws are manipulated to press the contacts against the blocks to clamp them in place and provide electrical connection between the lead wires and the blocks. Such an arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,629 issued Oct. 17, 1995 and entitled “Implantable Lead Ring Electrode and Method of Making”.
A DBS system comprises similar components (i.e. a neurostimulator, at least one extension, and at least one stimulation lead) and may be utilized to provide a variety of different types of electrical stimulation to reduce the occurrence or effects of Parkinson's disease, epileptic seizures, or other undesirable neurological events. In this case, the neurostimulator may be implanted into the pectoral region of the patient. The extension or extensions may extend up through the patient's neck, and the leads/electrodes are implanted in the brain. The leads may interface with the extension just above the ear on both sides of the patient. The distal end of the lead may contain from four to eight electrodes and, as was the case previously, the proximal end of the lead may be connected to the distal end of the extension and may be held in place by set screws. The proximal portion of the extension plugs into the connector block of the neurostimulator.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a relatively new and efficient technique that may be used in the diagnosis of many neurological disorders. It is an anatomical imaging tool which utilizes non-ionizing radiation (i.e. no x-rays or gamma rays) and provides a non-invasive method for the examination of internal structure and function. For example, MRI permits the study of the overall function of the heart in three dimensions significantly better than any other imaging method. Furthermore, imaging with tagging permits the non-invasive study of regional ventricular function.
MRI scanning is widely used in the diagnosis of injuries to the head. In fact, the MRI is now considered by many to be the preferred standard of care, and failure to prescribe MRI scanning can be considered questionable. Approximately sixteen million MRIs were performed in 1996, followed by approximately twenty million in the year 2000. It is projected that forty million MRIs will be performed in 2004.
In an MRI scanner, a magnet creates a strong magnetic field which aligns the protons of hydrogen atoms in the body and then exposes them to radio frequency (RF) energy from a transmitter portion of the scanner. This spins the various protons, and they produce a faint signal that is detected by a receiver portion of the scanner. A computer renders these signals into an image. During this process, three electromagnetic fields are produced; i.e. (1) a static magnetic field, (2) a gradient magnetic field, and (3) a radio frequency (RF) magnetic field. The main or static magnetic field may typically vary between 0.2 and 3.0 Tesla. A nominal value of 1.5 Tesla is approximately equal to 15,000 Gauss which is 30,000 times greater than the Earth's magnetic field of approximately 0.5 Gauss. The time varying or gradient magnetic field may have a maximum strength of approximately 40 milli-Tesla/meters at a frequency of 0-5 KHz. The RF may, for example, produce thousands of watts at frequencies of between 8-215 MHz. For example, up to 20,000 watts may be produced at 64 MHz and a static magnetic field of 1.5 Tesla; that is, 20 times more power than a typical toaster. Thus, questions have arisen regarding the potential risk associated with undesirable interaction between the MRI environment and the above-described neurostimulation systems; e.g. forces and torque on the implantable device within the MRI scanner caused by the static magnetic field, RF-induced heating, induced currents due to gradient magnetic fields, device damage, and image distortion. Of these interactions, the problems associated with induced RF currents in the leads are most deserving of attention since it has been found that the temperature in the leads can rise by as much as 25° Centigrade or higher in an MRI environment.
A similar problem occurs when a patient undergoes diathermy treatment employing RF energy to create eddy currents in the patient's tissue so as to heat the tissue and promote healing. In this environment, current may also be produced in the implanted lead causing undesirable heating of the electrodes as described above.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an implantable medical device that may be safely operated in an MRI environment. It would be further desirable to provide an implantable medical device such as a SCS or DBS neurostimulation system that may be operated in an MRI environment without the generation of significant undesirable heat in the leads due to induced RF currents. It would be further desirable to provide an MRI-safe, implantable lead that may be used in conjunction with known implantable medical devices wherein the stimulation electrodes shunt the energy induced in the electrodes during an MRI scan safely to a patient's body, thereby reducing the generation of unwanted heat at the leads stimulation electrodes. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.